Bellary loot sparks verbal duel

New Delhi: The Lok Sabha Monday witnessed a running spat between Trinamool member Saugata Roy and Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Rajiv Pratap Rudy with both questioning each other on different occasions. Matters worsened when Roy talked about "Bellary loot", apparently referring to the alleged plundering of mines during the previous Karnataka government run by BJP, inviting sharp reaction from Rudy who questiond as to how the TMC member can make such a statement.

During discussion on the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2015, Roy even named a former BJP minister for his role in the exploitation of mines. Deputy Speaker M Thambidurai said he can take names only after giving a prior notice. At this, Roy said he was ready to withdraw it. Earlier, Roy raised the issue of his name being mentioned by Sanjay Jaiswal (BJP) during debate on amendments to the Citizenship Act. Jaiswal, while rebutting the points raised by Roy, said a "Chief Minister's companions" are arrested.

Roy, who was not present at the time in the House, said Jaiswal had made reference to the points raised by him during the debate and he wanted to respond to them. "I have a point of personal explanation...When I made the reference, I did not mention which ruling party president was arrested earlier.. I have not mentioned which ruling party Chief Minister was arrested earlier... I have not mentioned how president of the ruling party was let out by CBI in case of rioting and murder," he said. He demanded that all references made by Jaiswal about him should be deleted.

This evoked strong response from Rudy who said Roy could not raise the issue as he (Roy) was not present in the House when Jaiswal spoke. He sought a ruling from the Deputy Speaker M Thambidurai. Thambidurai ruled that as a member of the House, Roy could go through the records and give a notice seeking to raise the issue.

The treasury benches and the opposition parties also clashed over the extension of Lok Sabha beyond 6 pm. The government wanted the House to sit till late to enable passage of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill. Mallikarjun Kharge (Cong), Saugata Roy (TMC) and B Mahtab (BJD) opposed the government's move, saying the bill should be debated on Tuesday and members given more time to take part in the debate and move adjournments. Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu sought the opposition's cooperation, saying there was a heavy legislative agenda for the session.

At one point, he remarked that he would agree to adjournment at 6 pm if the opposition agrees to the passage of this and two other bills tomorrow even if the House has to sit till 11 PM. Kharge retorted that Parliament's job was to "debate and discuss". On this, Naidu took a dig at the opposition, saying Parliament's job not to "adjourn and go away".

Naidu's deputy Rudy said the Speaker had consented to the request of opposition members to delcare March 5 as a holiday after they agreed to work beyond stipulated hours. He accused Roy of "misguiding" the House as he was in agreement with the decision taken in the Business Advisory Committee. The Deputy Speaker then extended the time till 7 pm. Roy and Mahtab opposed the provisions the Bill and urged government to bring a fresh legislation instead of the current bill, which seeks to amend an existing law.